good reading august 2012 31
book club
August 2012
main
fiction book of the month
Paving the new road
Sulari Gentill
Pantera Press $29.99
It’s 1933, and the political landscape of
Europe is darkening. Eric Campbell, the
man who would be Australia’s Führer, is on a
fascist tour of the Continent, meeting dictators
over cocktails and seeking allegiances in a
common cause. Yet the Australian way of life
is not undefended. Old enemies have united to undermine Campbell’s
ambitions. The clandestine armies of the Establishment have once
again mobilised to thwart any friendship with the Third Reich.
But when the Establishment’s man in Munich is killed, desperate
measures are necessary.
Now Rowland Sinclair must travel to Germany to defend
Australian democracy from the relentless march of fascism. Amid
the goosestepping euphoria of a rising Nazi movement, Rowland
encounters those who will change the course of history. In a world
of spies, murderers and despotic madmen, he can trust no-one but
his friends and companions: an artist, a poet and a brazen sculptress.
DiScuSSion queStionS:
1. Discuss the writing style of the author that reviewers have called
‘lively’, ‘daring’, ‘witty’ and ‘charming’. How does author Sulari
Gentill keep the reader involved?
2. In Paving the New Road, the author not only takes the
characters overseas but also places them into one of the most
terrifying times and places of modern history – Germany of the
1930s. Discuss the difficulties of writing about a setting such as this.
3. The author weaves her characters into this very dark period
of history. Discuss how she does this while retaining the story’s
lighthearted style.
4. Many crimes are committed throughout the book. Some of the
crimes really happened and others are fictional. Discuss the problems
associated with painting real perpetrators in their true colours.
5. In the 1930s the Nazis were gaining popularity. At the time,
many people viewed them as progressive, but there were also many
others opposed to what they stood for. Discuss how this was dealt
with in the novel.
6. The author forces Rowland and his friends to confront the evil
events in Germany, years before politicians in their own country
were prepared to do so. What impact did this have on Rowland,
Clive, Milton and Edna?
7. Do you think Rowland and Edna should have their happily
ever after?
books of the month
Explore the true story of an australian digger’s struggle for survival
and recompense as a POW of the Japanese and the dark history of
australian fascists during World War II with a political crime novel.
For more questions and discussion ideas for your book club for Paving the new road and digger’s Story go to
goodreadingmagazine.com.au and click on ‘Book Clubs’ on the bookmark on the left of the screen.
non-fiction book
of the month
digger’s Story
brian Robertson & David barrett
the Five Mile Press $32.95
David ‘Digger’
Barrett was
given his nickname at an early age by his
father. It was prophetic: as an 18-year-old
looking for fun and adventure, he enlisted
as a private and served in World War II.
After surviving the Malayan Campaign,
he would spend over three years as a
prisoner of war of the Japanese. The
prisoners were moved to work on the
Thai–Burma railway – also known as the
Death Railway – a 415km track hewn
by prisoners through rock and tropical jungle that cost more than
100 000 lives. Digger’s job was digging graves for the dead, or nearly
dead, every single day.
It would take Digger more than 50 years to rid his mind of the
hate he felt for the guards of the Imperial Japanese Army. His story
of courage, mateship and survival takes him from the prison camps
of Thailand and Burma to the fight for reparations for all Australian
POWs of the Japanese.
DiScuSSion queStionS:
1. Digger’s behaviour shows great hate combined with a burning
determination to survive and seek revenge. Did you regard this as
a worthy combination of character traits?
2. The book explains that not all POWs showed these traits. Why
do you think some POWs were less vengeful or determined?
3. To what degree, if any, do you believe that Digger’s experiences
during his time as a POW influenced his success as a salesman and
businessman in his postwar career?
4. Was it David’s thirst for revenge that drove him to found the
Australian Reparations Committee, more than 40 years after
the war?
5. Did you enjoy the humour in the book? Is there a place for
humour in a book about such intense suffering?
6. Some Japanese politicians have made attempts to apologise for
Japan’s behaviour during the war. But why, unlike Germany, have
they never offered reparations?
7. Do you believe that reparations from Japan might have been
forthcoming if David had got his way to further embarrass the
Japanese after 1990?
31_bookclub_c.indd 31
5/7/12 3:34:11 PM